dight

English

Etymology

From Middle English dighten, dihten, (also dyten, from whence dite), from Old English dihtan, dihtian (“to set in order; dispose; arrange; appoint; direct; compose”), from Proto-West Germanic *dihtōn (“to compose; invent”), of disputed origin. Possibly from a derivative of Proto-Germanic *dīkaną (“to arrange; create; perform”), from Proto-Indo-European *dʰeyǵ-, *dʰeyǵʰ- (“to knead; shape; mold; build”), influenced by Latin dictāre; or perhaps from Latin dictāre (“to dictate”) itself. See dictate; and also parallel formations in German dichten, Dutch dichten, Swedish dikta.

Pronunciation

• (US, UK) IPA^(key): /daɪt/

  • Audio (Southern England):

    (file)

• (Canada) IPA^(key): [dʌɪt]
• Rhymes: -aɪt

Verb

dight (third-person singular simple present dights, present participle dighting, simple past and past participle dight or dighted)

1. (obsolete, transitive) To deal with, handle.
2. (obsolete, transitive) To dispose, put (in a given state or condition).
3. (archaic, transitive, of facial features) To be formed or composed (of).
   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night:

     […] nor is there found, in sea or on land, a sweeter or pleasanter of gifts than she; for she is prime in comeliness and seemlihead of face and symmetrical shape of perfect grace; her check is ruddy dight, her brow flower white, her teeth gem-bright, her eyes blackest black and whitest white, her hips of heavy weight, her waist slight and her favour exquisite.

4. (archaic, transitive) To dress, array; to adorn.
   • 1645, John Milton, L'Allegro:

     Right against the eastern gate, / Where the great sun begins his state, / Robed in flames, and amber light, / The clouds in thousand liveries dight […].

   • 1885, Richard F. Burton, chapter XII, in The Book of the Thousand Nights and a Night, volume I, The Burton Club, page 114:

     After an hour or so the veil lifted and discovered beneath it fifty horsemen, ravening lions to the sight, in steel armour dight. We observed them straightly, and lo! they were cutters-off of the highway, wild as wild Arabs.

5. (archaic, transitive) To make ready, prepare.

Synonyms

• (to furnish): apparel, fit out, kit out
• (to dress, array, adorn): clothe, don, put on; see also Thesaurus:clothe

Derived terms

• dighter
• adight
• bedight
• benedight
• misdight
• maledight
• overdight
• undight

Adjective

dight

1. (obsolete) Disposed; adorned.

Adverb

dight

1. (obsolete) Finely.

   Synonym: dightly

Yola

Etymology

From Middle English dight, past participle of dighten.

Pronunciation

• IPA^(key): /diːt/
• Homophone: deeth

Adjective

dight

1. adorned, dressed

Related terms

• dieeght

References

• Jacob Poole (d. 1827) (before 1828) William Barnes, editor, A Glossary, With some Pieces of Verse, of the old Dialect of the English Colony in the Baronies of Forth and Bargy, County of Wexford, Ireland, London: J. Russell Smith, published 1867, page 35